The present invention relates to a novel culturing apparatus (assembly) which can be termed a cell culture dish. More particularly, the present invention is a “combined cell culture dish” or “dish-in-dish” apparatus comprising at least one smaller cell culture dish fixedly positioned within a larger cell culture dish, and the number of such fixated cell culture dishes can include a multiple number of fixated cell culture dishes within one another, either concentric or eccentric, in any number of geometric shapes, and without limitation to the number of petri dishes included. An alternate embodiment of this invention can include a plurality of cell culture dishes juxtaposed side-by-side having common interior well walls, and the well walls may or may not be different in height depending on the application. The combined cell culture dish differs from the prior art because the walls of said combined petri dishes may be of different heights and made from any combination of transparent and non-transparent materials that will allow juxtaposing and different cultures to grow simultaneously. Such separate but juxtaposing culture growth can then be studied to determine whether certain cultures gown separately and in close proximity influence each other in certain ways. The combined cell culture dish of the present invention may or may not be fitted with single or multiple covers and may or may not be stacked.
Examples of prior petri dishes may be found in the following U.S. Pat. No. 4,675,298 (Brusewitz, Gerhard), U.S. Pat. No. 4,160,700 (Boomus, Mary), and U.S. Pat. No. 3,660,243 (Young, Cecil).